TEENAGE students got a whole new perspective on the world thanks to a unique link up with the International Space Station.

Pupils at Harewood and Avonbourne Colleges in Bournemouth were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take photos of the Earth from space.

The project was made possible thanks to Harewood’s Bill Coombes, who works as a technician in the science department and is also an education outreach officer for NASA.

His connection with the famous space organisation is believed to have made Harewood and Avonbourne the first UK schools to take part in an ISS photographic mission.

Students made contact with the ISS as it moved above the northern hemisphere to take pictures from space and took some stunning pictures of the Bournemouth coastline and the Isle of Wight.

Bill said: “This project enables students to take photographic images directly from the ISS. We do this by sending an email to the ISS via NASA and then, using a camera 360km above the Earth, we take photos of the area the space station is passing over.

“It’s an awe-inspiring experience for all the students as they take images of the area they live in from thousands and thousands of miles away in space.”

And Masoud Babania, 15, said: “This has been the best science lesson ever. It’s amazing to think that from our classroom we are able to operate a camera that’s in outer space. It’s been mind-bogglingly brilliant.“ The photographic sessions will be followed by a live link-up with the ISS later this year to give students the opportunity to speak directly with the astronauts living and working in outer space.